Faroque laments the dearth
of good comic writers

Of late, that sensitive actor of Chashme-Baddur and Gaman , Farooque Sheikh has disappointed his many fans by popping up in crass comedies like Chamatkar and Ahaa! in which he's quite obviously playing to the gallery. Has Sheikh also been lured by the need to turn commercial? Or is it a gnawing insecurity, because with parallel cinema in hibernation, good roles, are no longer coming his way?

Why on earth did you agree to do a loud comedy like Chamatkar?

For the simple reason that I enjoy farces. You can take potshots at the establishment and bring their failings to the notice of the public without anyone objecting vehemently. If we were to pick on the same issues in a serious vein, I'm sure there would be a hundred objections raised.

And what about Ahaa? What excuse do you have for that one?

To be perfectly honest, the Ahaa people had previously approached me for two or three projects which I had refused. So I was rather embarassed about turning them down yet again.

And that was the reason you did it?

Well, I did like some of the episodes I was presented with. And the cast they had assembled with stars like Shekhar Suman, Shashikalaji and Farha was very attractive. But then I discovered that some of the other episodes weren't nice at all. But that's the way the cookie crumbles!

Is it adieu to films now? Have you decided to concentrate on television alone?

I'd done serials earlier too like Shreekant and Aakhri Dau. I'm open to good film offers but I'm not getting the kind of work I would like to do. Rather than do anything and everything in cinema, I thought I'd concentrate on television. I'm quite happy with what I am doing on the small screen. It doesn't make me ecstatic, but the exposure you get on television is unprecedented. Till a really exciting film offer turns up, television's fine. I'm doing very limited work anyway. I don't like to work 30 days a month. I have a business which keeps me financially independent. I have never done more than two films at a time, so doing two serials is too much work for me. Ideally, I'd like to do one serial and one film. But I don't see the film happening immediately.

What kind of roles are you looking for?

It has to be something that captures my imagination. With the kind of films being made today, I'd probably end up playing the hero's friend or the heroine's brother. When I started out, parallel cinema was at its peak and they had something substantial to offer. Even now, my first preference would definitely be the big screen if I could get roles with some meat.

But a lot of other stars of the parallel movement like Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, have succeeded in carving a niche for themselves in commercial cinema. Why didn't you attempt to do the same?

Naseer changed tracks completely. But regrettably, Naseer is not a person around whom films are written now unlike what used to happen earlier. This is a greater loss to cinema because he is a first rate actor. Since he has ample talent, he can carry off whatever is given to him. But he is not what he used to be. That is a compromise he has made, something I'm not willing to do.

But art films are still being made.

Only a few and they have no takers. Saaz has been ready for months and they are still looking for someone to buy and release it. Prakash Jha's Mrityudand with Madhuri Dixit has also been ready for a long time and they too are still looking for a buyer. The parallel cinema movement is in a state of hibernation. I hope it is only hibernation and not a death sleep. The only way out is for the state and central governments to invest in a whole set of small cinema halls like a multiplex, where people can viably release their films. Everytime a filmmaker like Sai Paranjpye makes a film, she has to start from square one. This should not be the case for a person with her kind of track record.

You were a favourite with Sai Paranjpye. Didn't she approach you for Saaz?

She had offered me the role of one of the music directors but I failed to fall in love with it. I told her honestly that I wouldn't be too happy doing it and Sai understood my feelings perfectly.

Do you ever resent the fact that the industry hasn't offered you the kind of work that could have really exploited your talents?

No, why should there be any resentment? There were times when the industry offered me work which was well beyond my worth. I also had the advantage of working with some of the best directors. A good director highlights the artiste's strong points and plays down his weaknesses.

You were always known to be a subtle and sensitive actor. The loud comedies you're doing now certainly don't seem to be your style.

What can I do? They don't make subtle comedy on television. And when you're doing farcical comedies, the note one has to strike is at least two notes higher than the one in a Sai Paranjpye film. Also, a film allows its character two hours to unfold and make an impression on the audience. In a serial, the director has only 23 minutes to make a similar impression. If he doesn't manage to engage his audience in the first three minutes, they will switch channels. Which means you have to raise your pitch a little higher to catch the audience's attention. On the other hand, one should avoid being discordant. There are episodes in Ahaa and Chamatkar which I thought were woefully loud. Surprisingly, those are the episodes which have evoked the maximum response.

So would you say Indian audiences cannot appreciate subtle humour?

That kind of appreciation will come with time. If you see the history of cinema, you'll notice that the kind of acting you saw in Parsee theatre was loud and dramatic with an accent on melodramatic dialogue. There even used to be a Sohrab Modi school of dialogue. Today we find him too loud. That is because the audience has matured. The television audience will also mature with time. If Balraj Sahni had been around in the days of early cinema, no one would have given him a second look. Even the West took its time to travel from the Here's Lucy kind of comedies to the more subtle Yes Minister kind. You have to go through the teething process, you can't rush it. Unfortunately, we have a dearth of good comic writers. And those who are good, quickly get involved in so much work that it becomes impossible for them to sustain the quality of their work.

Practically every comic serial includes a laugh track today. Don't you think they're unnecessary if the jokes are really funny?

I think the audience needs to be initiated to laugh. Such tracks also give them a sense of being a participant among a crowd. That is why the reaction at a premiere or a preview is completely different from the response evoked during an everyday show.

You seem to be getting slotted as a comedian.

I guess that's inevitable in an industry where there's not much thinking involved during the casting process. I am very interested in doing a talk show. They have tremendous potential. I wish one would come my way.

Why not make a talk show yourself?

I don't have the time. And the modus operandi of chasing channels and channel heads is something that I'd never be able to do. I have never gone to anybody for work and I don't intend to begin now.